Below are words from my Archaic Definition of the Week series, organized alphabetically. The source listed below are listed alphabetically, and most of them available for purchase, on the Sources page.
A
almoner (Continuum Dictionary of Religion)
ammariya (Hans Wehr Dictionary of Arabic)
ancilia (Continuum Dictionary of Religion)
B
ballicatter (Dictionary of Newfoundland English)
belly (Wordsworth Dictionary of Obscenity & Taboo)
big heads (Giants, Monsters, & Dragons)
busk (1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue)
C
canvas (The Pirate Dictionary)
cat wagon (Prostitute Dictionary of the Old West)
cockswain (Dictionary of the Marine)
D
demonocracy (Dictionary of Early English)
disembogue (The Pirate Dictionary)
E
ewer (Dictionary & Native’s Guide to the Unknown American Language)
F
facinorous (Dictionary of Early English)
fallow (Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories)
fret (Johnson’s Dictionary)
froward (A Sea of Words)
funk (Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable)
futtocks (Dictionary of the Marine)
G
gesta (Literary Terms : A Dictionary)
glebe (Dictionary of Early English)
H
handfasting (Forgotten English)
heifer brand (Dictionary of the American West)
hoiden (Johnson’s Dictionary)
hornbook (Literary Terms: A Dictionary)
horse [from "horse in the snow"] (Dictionary of the Marine)
I
igly (Dictionary of Early English)
J
jackass & jackass rig (A Sea of Words)
jacket (Dictionary of the American West)
jollies (Ship to Shore)
K
karrows (Forgotten English)
kumatage (Endangered Words)
L
lickerous (A Sea of Words)
lychnobite (Endangered Words)
M
mageira (Depraved and Insulting English)
mossyback (The Encyclopedia of Civil War Usage)
N
new year’s gifts (Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable)
nicker (Dictionary of Early English)
nunnery (Wordsworth Dictionary of Obscenity & Taboo)
O
ospray (Johnson’s Dictionary)
P
picus (woodpecker) (The Book of Beasts)
pinguescent (Endangered English Dictionary)
pompkin (1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue)
possibles (Dictionary of the American West)
possum beer (The Encyclopedia of Civil War Usage)
promptuary (Johnson’s Dictionary)
Q
quillon (A Sea of Words)
quoin (A Sea of Words)
R
rummage (The Pirate Dictionary)
S
simoleon (Dictionary & Native’s Guide to the Unknown American Language)
sixes and sevens (1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue)
skimmington (Depraved and Insulting English)
snow [from "horse in the snow"] (Dictionary of the Marine)
T
tony (Dictionary and Native’s Guide to the Unknown American Language)
U
ugsome (Dictionary of Early English)
V
vease (Weird and Wonderful Words)
W
wharfinger (Dictionary of the Marine)
white bird (Dictionary of Superstitions)
X
xeres (Endangered English Dictionary)
Y
ybis (The Book of Beasts)
yess (Dictionary of Newfoundland English)
yest (Johnson’s Dictionary)
Z
zad (1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue)
